Colts Trade Eight-Time Pro Bowl Guard Quenton Nelson to Seahawks for Two Draft Picks

The Indianapolis Colts traded eight-time Pro Bowl guard Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks on Tuesday, Oct. 27, in exchange for a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick. The Seahawks said the deal is pending a physical.

It is the first major move for a Colts team that fired general manager Chris Ballard on Oct. 19 and sits at 2-5 after Sunday's loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

What Seattle gets

Nelson is 30. The Colts drafted him sixth overall in 2018, and he has made the Pro Bowl in all eight of his seasons. He was a first-team All-Pro from 2018 to 2020 and a second-team selection in each of the past two years, according to the Seahawks.

He is in the final year of a four-year, $80 million extension signed in 2022. Seattle will take on the remaining $9.777 million on that deal, The Ringer's Tom Pelissero reported.

The numbers explain why Seattle wanted him. Pro Football Reference has Nelson without a sack allowed in 275 pass-block snaps this season, with a 2.2 percent pressure rate. TruMedia counts six pressures and zero sacks in seven games.

The Seahawks' interior line has allowed the highest pressure rate in the NFL, according to CBS Sports Research. Quarterback Sam Darnold was hit 17 times and sacked five times in the Week 6 overtime loss to the Denver Broncos. Next Gen Stats has Seattle's overall pressure rate allowed at 38.4 percent, the 11th-highest in the league, with 16 sacks given up.

Seattle is 4-3 in its Super Bowl title defense and coming off a 20-3 win over the previously undefeated Kansas City Chiefs. ESPN reported that 2025 first-round pick Grey Zabel will likely slide from left guard to right guard to make room for Nelson.

The Colts' side

The price is modest for a player of Nelson's résumé, and the Colts took it because of his contract. He is unsigned beyond this season, so Indianapolis risked losing him for nothing in free agency.

CBS Sports gave the trade an "A" grade for Seattle and wrote that Indianapolis is "selling off elite talent at a discount." The Colts have not framed it that way publicly.

Colts.com says 2026 fourth-round pick Jalen Farmer could get a look at left guard.

There is also a personal connection. Colts interim general manager Ed Dodds worked in Seattle from 2007 to 2016 as a scout and senior personnel executive, and has a relationship with Seahawks GM John Schneider, CBS Sports noted.

Nelson was asked last week about being traded. He said he was "just focused on being my best and giving my absolute all every single day in everything I do."

A year ago, buyers

The swing in Indianapolis is sharp. At last year's deadline the Colts acquired cornerback Sauce Gardner from the New York Jets for two first-round picks and wide receiver AD Mitchell. A year later they are collecting picks for a guard on an expiring deal.

They are also not done. Jordan Schultz reported that the Colts are actively shopping defensive tackle DeForest Buckner. Running back Jonathan Taylor has been a frequent name in trade talk. His wife said over the weekend that the family is on a "Colts transaction watch," according to Fox News Digital.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported that the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles also had interest in Nelson.

Seattle's pick math

Schneider has now made a midseason acquisition four years running: defensive lineman Leonard Williams in 2023, linebacker Ernest Jones in 2024, and wide receiver Rashid Shaheed in 2025. Shaheed was on an expiring deal and Seattle re-signed him, a precedent CBS Sports pointed to for Nelson.

The Seahawks also hold draft capital to spare. ESPN's Adam Schefter said they should receive five compensatory picks in the 2027 draft. Those come from losing Kenneth Walker III, Woolen, Coby Bryant and Boye Mafe in free agency, plus a third-rounder for Nolan Teasley leaving to become the Vikings' GM.

If Seattle does not extend Nelson and he leaves in free agency, he would bring back a 2028 compensatory pick, Yahoo Sports noted.

Seattle's offense is 15th in yards and 13th in points, per NFL.com, and has missed Walker in the run game. Nelson addresses the line. The pending return of running back Zach Charbonnet should help too.

NFL insider Jordan Schultz posted on X that the league expects the San Francisco 49ers to "respond next" in the NFC West.

The next checkpoints are Nelson's physical, which the Seahawks said is pending, and the Nov. 10 trade deadline. Whether Taylor and Buckner follow Nelson out of Indianapolis is still open.